First hamburger is 6 bucks a pound, now BACON???

nooshinjohn

Apparently there is a wonderful new bug from China messing with pork production here in the US....

http://money.msn.com/now/post--the-virus-that-could-hike-bacon-prices

I am more and more convinced that militant vegetarians and their environmentalist buddies are using the cost of pork and beef to force us to eat more veggies...


Soon there will be a group of veggie lovers that are opposed to the killing of fruits and vegetables for food and we will all be forced to eat dirt.

j/k of course.:cheesygrin: But damn, how much more can prices go up? I already don't but the premium cuts of beef or pork as it is, and only chicken breast when its on sale. This is getting nuts.

brgman

Yep the old BBQ doesn't get as much love this summer.Cost of feed corn and now this will have us eating Tofu burgers soon.

polkfarmboy

You would be surprised what gets fed to them poor cows and how small the area they have to wander. My friends cows get fed sugar beats and sometimes they charge the fence over and all run out just to get a nice munch on the green grass

nooshinjohn

polkfarmboy wrote: »

You would be surprised what gets fed to them poor cows and how small the area they have to wander. My friends cows get fed sugar beats and sometimes they charge the fence over and all run out just to get a nice munch on the green grass

The best way to raise a cow for food is to have a combination of free-range and corn-fed. Cows that are pure free range are too "gamey" tasting for me, and in that case I prefer bison over cow.

Not all cows are poorly treated. Kobe beef are fed rice beer and massaged three times a day!:cheesygrin:

BlueFox

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Not all cows are poorly treated. Kobe beef are fed rice beer and massaged three times a day!:cheesygrin:

I bet Kobe beef costs more than $6/lb.

tonyb

BlueFox wrote: »

I bet Kobe beef costs more than $6/lb.

Sure does....only now you get the added benefit of a Kobe steak that glows in the dark. No lights on the BBQ needed.

EndersShadow

John, the cost fluctuation are due to the overage in "Pork barrel spending"... so supply hasn't been able to keep up with demand ....

Msabot1

Bovines are grazers...digestive tract doesn't handle corn or anything else other than grass...that is why the beef at the market tastes so bad....I wouldn't pay six bucks a pound for any ground beef...too much filler in it and who knows what else! I'm not a Vegan,just don't care for a lot of what's being offered out there!

tonyb

The corn is to fatten them up asap to bring them to slaughter earlier. You might have to wait longer for that grass grazer to come to slaughter weight. Same goes for other farm animals such as chickens. That's why grass feed beef costs more....heck anything of quality costs more. What was once a standard in a lot of things as far as quality goes is now reserved for the more well to do crowd.

There's a "wow" factor when tasting food raised naturally over the mass produced stuff. Even fresh fruits and veggies, properly grown, fresh picked, nothing like it. Unfortunately our palettes have become so used to blah we then add a ton of spices to add some sort of flavor. IMHO....a good steak needs nothing more than some salt and pepper. A good quality steak that is. The choice cuts at your local food store....garbage/tasteless. Support your local farmers guys, they are the last bastion of quality food.

brgman

I grew up on a farm raising beef steers.Buy in April at 400-600 lbs and we fed them them ground corn with molasses mixed in.Along with daily grazing they would go out at about 100 lbs in November for slaughter.We always kept one and sold the rest.2 big freezers in our basement and 2 in my grandparents next door.
Great beef all the time.
Spoiled the **** out of me.
I get some from a local butcher now but it still just doesn't match that stuff.
Angus and Charlet (White coat).Yum!!
Man I miss that.

BlueFox

brgman wrote: »

I grew up on a farm raising beef steers. Buy in April at 400-600 lbs and we fed them them ground corn with molasses mixed in. Along with daily grazing they would go out at about 100 lbs in November for slaughter.

Is that the Oprah diet?

dromunds

As long as the federal reserve is keeping the dollar artificially low with their quantitative easing, the price of commodities will be high, such as corn, wheat, soybeans, etc. When that happens, our commodities seem cheap to other countries because the dollar is low so they get more bang for their currency. Exports theoretically rise, and so do the prices of beef, pork and other meats. Unfortunately, despite these high prices the farmer's margin (profit) is not much, and I've heard many hog farmers have been operating at a loss since last spring because of the high price of everything that goes into a pig, including the fertilizer, fuel prices, equipment prices, etc. it takes to grow the crops and raise the animals. You guys are right, buy local.

brgman

BlueFox wrote: »

Is that the Oprah diet?

oops
1,000-1100 lbs
lol

brgman

dromunds wrote: »

As long as the federal reserve is keeping the dollar artificially low with their quantitative easing, the price of commodities will be high, such as corn, wheat, soybeans, etc. When that happens, our commodities seem cheap to other countries because the dollar is low so they get more bang for their currency. Exports theoretically rise, and so do the prices of beef, pork and other meats. Unfortunately, despite these high prices the farmer's margin (profit) is not much, and I've heard many hog farmers have been operating at a loss since last spring because of the high price of everything that goes into a pig, including the fertilizer, fuel prices, equipment prices, etc. it takes to grow the crops and raise the animals. You guys are right, buy local.

Best advice from my grandparents-
Don't be a farmer!
Some have no choice and they are scarooed.

jbooker82

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Kobe beef are fed rice beer and massaged three times a day!:cheesygrin:

That also depends on if its just a Kobe breed, or if its truly Kobe beef. In order to be called Kobe in the US all it has to do is be 51% Kobe genetics. It doenst have to be fed rice and beer. I doubt a person could get a true Kobe steak from a restraunt under $75-100 bucks.

Kind of like how a Prime Rib used to mean that it was Prime Grade Rib Roast. Now it just the name of a cut of meat.

cowtrimmer

Mandated ethenol use, corn at $6.00+ a bushel, land at $10,000+- an acre The continually rising cost of doing business in America...................I'm surprised bacon isnt $8.00lb.

tonyb

cowtrimmer wrote: »

The continually rising cost of doing business in America.

On that note....is there any wonder business looks elsewhere to operate ? Basic economics 101.